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Man accused of smuggling drugs through mail pleads guilty
A man who allegedly attempted to smuggle methamphetamine or “ice” into the CNMI through the U.S. Postal Service has pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
Zhang Yuzhu pleaded guilty last week to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted Zhang’s guilty plea after finding him fully competent to enter a knowing and voluntary plea.
Manglona vacated Zhang’s jury trial and ordered the court clerk to unseal Zhang’s plea agreement.
Zhang will be sentenced on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at 1:30pm. Manglona remanded him back to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Meanwhile, in the CNMI Superior Court, following a motion from the Office of the Attorney General, Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho dismissed with prejudice the local drug case against Zhang.
Zhang, 48, was accused of attempting to smuggle from California through the mail 4.9 lbs of methamphetamine. The seized contraband had a street value of approximately $700,000, authorities said.
In local court, Zhang was charged with importation of contraband, trafficking, and possession of a controlled substance.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, the drug contraband was discovered on March 19 during a Customs routine inspection of a large parcel addressed to Zhang. Inside the parcel, Customs officer Franklin Sablan said he saw three wooden cases containing chinaware. Upon further inspection of the wooden cases, Sablan noticed a square object wrapped in duct tape under the chinaware inside the wooden case. While examining the square object, the officer noticed white crystalline substance spilling into the wooden case.
After procuring the parcel and its contents as evidence, the items were transported to the Customs office at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport for processing and testing, where it turned out positive for methamphetamine.
